The world knows about Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott that began in 1955. Still, only a handful of people know the story of Civil Right Activist Claudette Colvin.
Many people had the question: Was Claudette Colvin Pregnant during or after the arrest? Hence, this article will answer all your doubts and provide you with the legend of the Proud African-American Woman.
The story of Claudette Colvin dates back to 1955, when she was only 15 years old and was arrested for not giving her seat to a white woman on the bus.
Just nine months after that incident, another woman named Rosa Parks was arrested for the same reason, which initiated the Montgomery Bus Boycott Campaign and brought an amendment to the segregation law.
Was Claudette Colvin Pregnant?
Yes, Claudette Colvin, now age 84 years old, was pregnant during the proceedings of her case against the people who arrested her just for not giving a seat to a white person.
However, she was not pregnant when the civil rights leaders decided not to pursue her case. The Civil Rights Movement Leaders tried to make the “most appealing” victims and protesters the most seen.
Claudette hadn’t found out that she was pregnant by an older man until the following summer of the incident. The news of her pregnancy convinced the leaders that they had done the right thing in not pursuing her case.
Many people believe that she didn’t receive the same attention as Rosa Parks just because she was not “fair-skinned” and did not have “good hair,” which would drop the publicity of the so-called Campaign.
Over time, the news and stories of Claudette Colvin’s pregnancy changed utterly. People were told that she was pregnant at the time of her arrest and trial, which is entirely false.
In a nutshell, for those wondering: Was Claudette Colvin Pregnant? Yes, she was pregnant, but not during her arrest.
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Was Civil Rights Activist Claudette Colvin Arrested?
Claudette Colvin was arrested on March 22, 1955, for not giving her seat to a white woman while riding a bus in Montgomery, Alabama.
She was dragged out of the bus, called off to the Police, and arrested just because she didn’t give her seat, although she was sitting in the “colored” section, which was separated for Black passengers.
The Civil Rights Activist, then only a 15-year-old Student, had recently learned about the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in her school; thus, she refused to surrender her seat as per her right.
Colvin stated that she was handcuffed, arrested, and forcibly removed from the bus by two Police officers.
Several American-African civil rights leaders, including Martin Luther King, Jr., were present to discuss her arrest with the Police commissioner. Finally, after several lengthy processing, she got bailed out by her minister.
Through the trial, she was convicted on all three charges in juvenile court: disturbing the peace, violating the segregation law, and assaulting a Police officer.
Although two of the above charges were dropped, the record of her arrest and adjudication of delinquency was not expunged until 2021 by the district court.
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Claudette Colvin Legacy And Life After Activism
Claudette Colvin rarely told her story after she moved to New York City. On March 1956, she gave birth to her first son, Raymond, and left Montgomery to live with her older sister, Velma Colvin.
Later in 1960, she gave birth to her second son, Randy Claudette, while living in New York. Subsequently, she worked as a nurse’s aide in Manhattan until 2004.
In 2005, she told the Montgomery Advertisers that she was not angry about not getting recognition like Rosa Parks; instead, she was disappointed in NAACP.
She only wishes people to know that Rosa Parks was the right person for the 1955 Boycott, but the people should also know that four other victims were taken to challenge the former segregation law.
Later on May 20, 2018, Civil Rights Activist Colvin Claudette was honored with a Congressional Certificate and an American Flag for her lifetime commitment to public service.
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